title: Analysis of medical aid to Croatian Army soldiers wounded at the front line.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Analysis of medical aid to Croatian Army soldiers at the front lines.
  
  
  METHODS
  This investigation concerned 115 severely wounded Croatian soldiers (males, median age 29 years, range 17-57 years) at three rehabilitation institutions. All had been wounded at the front line by various explosive devices or bullets. In the investigation, semi-structured clinical interviews were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  First aid was provided to 47 soldiers (40.9%) within 15 minutes and to 44 soldiers (38.3%) within 1 hour. First aid was either self-administered or given by fellow combatants in 55 cases (47.8%), by physicians in 37 cases (23.2%), and by medical technicians and orderlies in 21 cases (18.2%). The basic procedures of medical aid were hemostasis, hemodynamic substitution, immobilization, and analgesia. First surgical operations were performed at health stations on 4 soldiers (3.5%), at war hospitals on 43 soldiers (37.4%), and at evacuation hospitals on 68 soldiers (59.1%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  First aid either self-administered or provided by fellow combatants is the most important procedure at the front lines before medical aid is administered.
authors.affiliation: Croatian Army Medical Corps Headquarters (CAMCH) for North and Central Dalmatia, Croatia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janković
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dodig
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biocić
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stivicević
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stajner
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Primorac
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D017523:Croatia; D005392:First Aid; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D008889:Military Personnel; D013997:Time Factors; D014857:Warfare; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*